Lacrosse: East alumnae Holman is national rookie of the year

Former East Chapel Hill All-American Sydney Holman has been named Inside Lacrosse magazine’s 2014 national collegiate Rookie of the Year. Holman is the first women’s lacrosse player at the University of North Carolina to win national freshman-of-the-year honors.

Sydney Holman, right, led UNC in assists in her rookie season, despite missing the last three games of the year.
Jeffrey Camarati - UNC

Former East Chapel Hill All-American Sydney Holman has been named Inside Lacrosse magazine’s 2014 national collegiate Rookie of the Year. Holman is the first women’s lacrosse player at the University of North Carolina to win national freshman-of-the-year honors.

Inside Lacrosse writes of Holman: “A quarterback-type attacker, Holman’s lacrosse I.Q. immediately set her apart from the rest this spring. Her ability to find open teammates, set up plays and finish at near-perfect precision elevated the Tar Heels attack to the top of the country’s scoring charts for the majority of the season.”

Holman, also the Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, led the Tar Heels in assists with a UNC freshman-record 27 in 2014. The 27 assists are the second-highest total in school history and ranked third in the ACC. She also scored 34 goals.

At attack for UNC, she finished second on the team in points with 61 (tied as the second-best freshman season in program history) despite missing four of 20 possible games due to injury. In her first month as a college player, she tied the UNC single-game record with six assists vs. Vanderbilt on Feb. 22.

Holman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee onApril 24 against Boston College and missed the final three games of the year. She underwent reconstructive surgery after the season.

A three-time U.S. Lacrosse All-America and Academic All-America player for East Chapel Hill, Holman led the Wildcat team to 14 consecutive victories and a state championship in 2013, scoring a combined 18 goals in the final two games. She set a N.C. high school record for career goals (416), while adding 134 assists and 241 ground balls in four years.

Holman is the daughter of Brian and Laurie Holman. Her father was an All-America lacrosse goalie at Johns Hopkins and now is an assistant coach with the Carolina men’s team. Her mother played lacrosse at Towson and is the director of operations for the UNC women’s lacrosse program. Her two older brothers played lacrosse at Carolina,